North Korea demands Japan pay compensation for sinking fishing boat

A Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel sprays water on a North Korean fishing boat in this file photo. Different Japanese agencies have been tasked with monitoring North Korea's fishing activities. [Reuters]

North Korea’s foreign ministry “strongly demanded” that Japan pay compensation for a fishing boat that sank when it collided with a Japanese patrol boat earlier this week, North Korean state media reported.

The collision on Monday was deliberate and “a gangster act” by Japan, which should take steps to prevent future incidents, a spokesman for the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA.